How People with Disabilities Use the Web - includes a page that introduces some of the hardware and software innovations and approaches that people with disabilities use to browse and interact with the Web.

This is a collection of pointers to information, and where possible,
to
demonstration versions of alternative browsing methods.

People with disabilities, whether temporary -- such as a slow
connection
or eyes "disabled" by having to watch traffic -- or permanent -- such
as
hearing, visual, physical or cognitive impairment -- use a wide range
of
alternative approaches, different from traditional
mouse-and-screen-based
browsers.

People with visual impairment or reading difficulties rely on speech
output, Braille displays or screen magnification; and in many cases use
the
keyboard instead of the mouse. People who can't use a keyboard rely
either on
voice recognition for spoken commands, or on switch devices which can
be
controlled by head, mouth or eye movements. People whose eyes are busy
with
another task may need Web access using voice-driven systems. This page
is
intended to give you background and pointers to solutions for these
scenarios.

The purpose of this collection is to reflect the whole range of
approaches
used for browsing. If you design Web pages, then this will allow you to
try
out a particular browsing method with specific sites as a way of
checking how
usable they are for a given browser, or combination of browser and
screen-reader, voice-recognition, or other adaptive systems. If you are
a
user who may be interested in finding the most effective method for
you, then
you should also find useful information here.

The page is divided into five sections:

Section
1 covers browsers which have been specially developed for people
with disabilities.

Section
2 is devoted to screen-readers, which allow visually impaired
people to navigate with standard applications, and are therefore most
often used in conjunction with mainstream browsers such as Netscape
Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.

Section
3 covers browsers not specifically designed for disabled people but
which have features that have allowed them to be used in combination
with adaptive systems.

Section
5 is a "catch-all" section intended to cover any access methods not
covered by the previous categories.

Disclaimer:

Inclusion of products on this reference list does not mean that they
are
endorsed by W3C. Products are listed in alphabetical order, with no
quality
rating. W3C provides the information on this page as a service to the
Web
community and in good faith. However W3C cannot verify the accuracy of
all
claims made by developers or users.

BrookesTalk
This browser under development by Oxford Brookes University focuses on
facilitating intelligent web-searching.
Speech output, screen-magnification;
Demonstration available.

EIAD
A browser from Sarsfield Solutions which provides enhancements
specifically for people with special needs and learning difficulties.
Touch-screen, simplified language interface.
Demonstration available.

HomePage Reader
The speech-based browser from IBM, using Internet Explorer as its
engine designed for blind and visually impaired. Speech output and
standard graphical user interface.
Full function trial available, multiple languages available

A screen-reader is used to allow navigation of the screen presented
by the
operating system, using speech or Braille output, and should therefore
enable
use of any mainstream application. In the context of browsing this
usually
means that they are used in conjunction with Netscape, Microsoft
Internet
Explorer, or, less often, with one of the other non-disability-specific
browsers such as LYNX and Opera, detailed in section 3. Listed below
are the
home pages of all the major developers of screen-readers for different
versions of Windows, and including one for Macintosh. Many of these
include
support for MS-DOS, either as an integral part of the Windows version,
or in
conjunction with a stand-alone DOS screen-reader. They all provide
demonstration versions.

These browsers are all designed for general use, but are of interest
because they may give enhanced accessibility in combination with
particular
adaptive systems, and some have enhanced screen magnification or
navigation
options.

AMAYA
This is W3C's test-bed browser, implementing emerging web technologies.
There are versions for Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT and UNIX.

We will be expanding this section to include links to reference
lists of
other access technologies such as screen magnifiers and voice
recognition
programs which can be used in conjunction with Web browsers.

There are a number of systems which filter or transform existing
pages to make them more accessible regardless of which browser is being
used. For a collection of links to such transformation tools, see: The WAI List
of filter and transformation tools.

Agora is a
system which allows web-pages to be retrieved by E-mail simply by
sending a message containing the URL of the desired document.

Page Getter allows
powerful and flexible retrieval of web-pages by E-mail, with options to
include images, or request text only.